Crazy Love
by NerdgirlNation
Summary: Not everyone can handle crazy.
1. Happy Birthday, Elizabeth

"Elizabeth!"

"What?" I screamed in response.

This was the third time I had answered Rebecca, each time louder than the last. I was starting to believe she had suddenly gone deaf.

"ELIZABETH!"

I threw my hands up in defeat and stormed down the hallway into the living room.

"WHAT?" I yelled at the back of her head. She was bouncing up and down on our exercise ball and scrolling aimlessly through Tumblr.

"Look at this GIF! Just _look_ at it! Doesn't it make you want to cry?"

I blinked. "You woke sleeping babies in Australia with your screams because you wanted me to look at a GIF?"

"No. I just thought it was cute. I woke sleeping babies because I wanted to give you…THIS!"

She reached under the desk and pulled out a gift bag that was a rather alarming shade of lime green with pink tissue paper spewing from its mouth.

"Aww, you remembered!" I said with a smile.

"Of course I remembered! We've been flatmates for three years! You're my best friend."

"Okay, so how come last year, Anne told me you only remembered because you saw it on Face-"

"A fluke," she interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I'd been a little busy that week. Now come on! Open it!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Alright! But if it's another scented candle, I'm stealing your credit card and buying myself something from Harrod's."

"It's not a candle. Just open it!"

I stuck my hand inside the crinkly pink puffiness and dug around for whatever I was lucky to receive this year.

"You did remember to put it in here, didn't you?" I teased as I yanked the entire wad of paper out of the sack.

"It's small. You'll find it."

I threw aside each individual piece of paper and finally spotted a tiny white envelope sitting on top of the very last sheet.

"Oooooh, I wonder what it could be!" I said with a smile.

Rebecca was bouncing up and down so hard on the ball that I thought it might explode right under her. She looked at me with wide eyes and a ridiculous grin.

I opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper covered in her curly script.

"Dear Elizabeth," I read aloud, "You've been the best friend a girl could ever ask for! I love you to death. But I used the rest of your coffee this morning." I looked up at her and glared.

"I know, I'm sorry. Keep going!"

"I went to the store and they were completely out of the kind you like. So instead of buying Hazelnut Dream and risking you setting the kitchen on fire due to caffeine-less wrath, I have saved the day with this Starbucks gift card! Enjoy, dearest!"

"_Much_ better than a scented candle!" I said with a wink.

"Yay! I knew you'd love it. Am I forgiven for spilling the last of your coffee grounds?"

"_Spilled?_ You _spilled_ it?"

"Well if you wouldn't put it on the edge of the shelf in the cabinet these things wouldn't happen."

"Okay, fine. You're forgiven. And thank you for the Starbucks card. Hello caramel latte!"


	2. Coffee Shop Coincidence

_God. Now I remember why I make my coffee at home_, I thought to myself as I stood in the endless line of coffee addicts like me. It was 8:30 AM and I was way overdue for my caffeine fix. I yanked my phone out of my pocket and took one small step forward in line. I checked my notifications and then snorted. Any of my friends would still be in bed and my brother was halfway around the world in America. _Texting is out the window. How about Youtube?_ I plugged my headphones in and opened the app, selecting favorite videos and internally giggling as I watched the love of my life make fun of his antisocial problems.

Slowly, but surely, I made my way to the front of the line. I slid my phone into my pocket and took out my headphones.

"Can I help you?" the frazzled cashier said with a forced smile.

"Hi, yeah, can I get a tall caramel latte, please?" I said, reaching into my purse for my gift card.

"Will that be all?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"That'll be £3.07 please."

I handed her my gift card and waited for my receipt.

"The name on this?"

"Elizabeth."

"We'll have that out in just a minute, Elizabeth."

"Alright, thank you!" I said with a smile.

I migrated to the end of the bar and looked around for a seat. There were at least fifteen drinks ahead of mine, so I figured I should get comfortable. I saw a small two person table in the back corner and made a bee line for it, planting my butt in one of the seats and claiming it as my own. I removed my phone from my pocket and mindlessly flicked through my Pinterest app, waiting for the holy moment when my name would finally be called. I was in the middle of loading a rather stubborn pin when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I jumped and looked up to see who dared to interrupt my social media zone. I recognized him immediately and tried not to fall out of my chair.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could sit here? It's going to be a while before my drink is out."

"I, uh, I-I yeah. Yeah, sit. Sit." _Smooth._

He smiled and sat down. "Thanks."

I tried not to stare at him. I didn't want him to think I was some crazy fan that would jump his bones if given the chance. I mean, I was, but I couldn't let him know that.

"My name's Dan. And who is the person nice enough to let me invade their space?"

"I, uh, my name's, it's-"

"Elizabeth!" the barista screamed.

"Yeah, that," I said, grateful for the employee that had saved me from embarrassment.

"Nice name. Are you leaving me already?" he said with that little smirk.

"I, I mean I don't have to. I could wait with you if you want."

"I'd like that. I'm a bit socially awkward."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying _I know_. I smiled and went to grab my coffee.

"Well, Elizabeth, I don't see my coffee coming out any time soon, so tell me about yourself."

"Oh, I'm not all that exciting," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Oh come on. Spill your secrets, table buddy!"

"Um, I live around the corner with my best friend, Rebecca. I'm an artist. I'm probably the most socially awkward geek walking the planet." He smiled at this. "Really, I don't know what else to say."

"Okay, then is it my turn?"

"Sure." _Like you'll tell me anything I don't know_.

"I live with my best friend as well. His name is Phil. I'm a 'professional vlogger' I guess you could say. And I'm pretty sure I could give you a run for your money on that socially awkward thing."

"Oh really? I rehearse restaurant orders in my head before I order them for fear of looking stupid."

"I let other people take the fall for my mistakes at work," he countered.

"I make my best friend talk to people when we're out in public together because I hate social interaction."

"I actually made a video about that!"

"Oh I know I watched it twelve times!" I clapped my hand over my mouth. "That sounded really creepy."

"Uh oh, am I in the presence of a cyber-stalker?" he asked in a teasing way.

"Well, I don't crawl through cyberspace to find your address or have a shrine built to you in my closet or anything. But I do really like your videos. They make me feel less….weird."

"Thanks," he laughed. "Glad I could help."

"Oh you do. You've literally saved my life." I instantly regretted saying that.

"Oh? In what way?"

"Um, I mean, it's just nice to know someone else has the same ridiculous problems in life that I do." _Liar. That is not what you meant._

He bought it. "I totally get that. So can I ask you some silly questions?"

"Shoot."

"What's your favorite type of music?"

"It's not that simple," I said with a smile.

He laughed and put up his hands. "Okay, eclectic girl I'm guessing?"

"We have a winner!"

"Just name some bands. Off the top of your head. Who comes to mind?"

"Wow. Mumford and Sons, Imagine Dragons, Muse, Ed Sheeran, and a bunch of others. If you look at my iPod though, you'll find mostly movie scores and orchestral stuff."

"Cool! I love Muse! Can you give me any good orchestral songs?"

"Well, anything by Howard Shore." He nodded. "The Harry Potter soundtracks are beautiful. Video game themes, like Skyrim and Halo, those are good, too."

His mouth fell open. "Wait a minute, a Muse lover _and_ a gamer?"

"Is that bad?" I asked, knowing full well it wasn't.

"Hell no! So what video games do you play?"

"Halo, Skyrim, classic Crash Bandicoot, classic Spyro, Sonic, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero. I'm a _pro_ at Guitar Hero."

His mouth was slightly agape. "Alright, where have you been all my life?"

I blushed and looked down at the table.

"Dan!" the barista called.

"Looks like that's your cue," I said, sad that the conversation was over.

"Yeah," he said and stood up. I watched him walk over to the counter and then stood up myself.

I was heading out the door when a hand caught my arm.

"Where are you going, table buddy?"

"Oh, I assumed…why?"

"I wasn't done getting to know you. You seem like a cool person, and as I like to reflect in my videos, there aren't many of those around."

"Oh. Okay then. What shall we do?"

"Well, I'm in the mood for drinking hot coffee and walking in the snow. Sound good?"

"Sounds amazing!"

He held out his arm and gestured that I take it. I wrapped my small hand around his foreman and followed him out the door and into the cold London air.


	3. No I'm Not

"Starter Pokemon?" Dan asked, his nose pink from the chilly weather.

"Oh geez. Probably Pikachu. I'm just that cliché."

"Nah, Pikachu's cool! I have a stuffed Pikachu at home." He paused. "And that probably sounded really manly."

I giggled. "So do I! I like to hold it whenever I-" I stopped. _When I'm trying not to cut myself_.

"When you what?" he prodded, his eyes curious.

"Oh, whenever I watch a sad Doctor Who episode."

"Ah. Yes, plushies are good for that."

I smiled and sipped my very cold coffee. We had been walking for nearly two hours and asking outrageous questions non-stop. With every single answer he gave, I was falling more in love with him than I already had been when he was just a face on a screen. I was absolutely freezing, but I refused to say so for fear he'd end the discussion and we'd head our separate ways.

"Hey, can we find a bin somewhere? My coffee's like ice and I kinda want to put my hand in my pocket," I finally said.

"Oh, yeah, sure! I'm sorry, you must be cold."

He dragged me over to a street corner and threw my cup in a black can. He then proceeded to take my left hand, intertwine it with his, and wrap my arm around his waist and put them in his pocket. I looked incredulously up into his eyes.

"Sorry, is that too much?"

I shook my head and smiled before wrapping his other arm around my waist and doing the same.

"Warmer?" he asked.

"Definitely."

We walked further and further down the street and eventually turned into a small alcove to shield ourselves from the cold.

"You know, as much fun as I'm having with you, Miss Elizabeth, I'm so cold I can feel my bones freezing as we speak."

I nodded and begrudgingly removed my hand from his pocket. He removed his from mine and then cleared his throat.

"Is there…any chance I could get your number? If not, that's fine, I mean…I'm not very good at this," he mumbled, running a hand through his furry hat.

I laughed and nodded, trying not to scream at the top of my lungs. He grinned and handed me his phone, into which I punched my number with my numb thumbs.

"There you go. It's under Elizabeth Montgomery."

"Thanks! Can I text you later?"

"Oh, I don't know. I may be too busy with all of the guys that beat down my door to date a weirdo like me," I said with a straight face.

"Oh well," he sighed. "At least I tried. Sounds like the competition beat me to it."

"Yep. Sorry. Now, if you'll excuse me, my stuffed boyfriend Totoro and I have plans to cuddle and eat ice cream later."

"Sounds like a fun guy," he said, trying not to laugh.

"Oh yes. But he does give the weirdest gifts. Like, what am I going to do with all those acorns?"

We glanced at each other before completely losing it, our laughs and snorts travelling down the block. I doubled over, trying to stop giggling and catch my breath. When our gasps for air finally subsided, Dan placed a hand on my shoulder and sighed.

"Elizabeth Montgomery, you are a girl after my own heart. You're perfect."

I forced a smile. _No I'm not._


End file.
